Stormy Waters Ahead
by gwenla998
Summary: A ruthless Unsub is torturing and murdering blondes,but his views change when he sees a certain brunette. His next target is Emily Prentiss. Will the team be able to stop the unsub in time?
1. Chapter 1

James McCuller slid the knife across his victim's throat, not hard enough to kill her. Not immediately anyway. The duct tape covering the blonde's mouth muffled the cries and whimpers. He knew it was only a matter of time before she was dead and he would be given the tedious task of disposing her body. That was his least favorite part, he could no longer savor the fear in his victim's eyes, they only stared lifelessly into empty space. Robert crouched down so that he was eye level with his victim. She was a pretty one, but her time had come. She was weakening more every day, and she was getting boring. Someone else would soon take her place.

"Shh," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair and down into the warm blood flowing down her neck. His victim stared straight into his eyes, barely blinking. He left her in the corner and walked over to the window. He pushed the moth-bitten curtains aside and looked out. So many people out there, James planned to kill as many as he could and he would enjoy every minute.


	2. Chapter 2

Currently, the members of the BAU were on their jet heading to a small town in New York. They were being called to investigate a series of murders. The victims were all blonde, in their late twenties and were brutally beaten before death to put it simply.

Great, Emily thought, another case. Of course, it was her job and this was to be expected on any case. It was just that she felt powerless against all these forces of evil. These thoughts were shared by everyone in this field at one point or another, but Emily liked to think that she was different and these thoughts troubled her greatly.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?" It took Emily a moment to register that Hotch was talking to her. She had neglected to see that everyone was deep in discussion. His chocolate eyes stared into hers.

"No sir." She replied. She quickly averted her eyes, usually she was on top of her game, but nobody seemed to notice she was a little on edge so the team continued their discussion.

"As far as victimology goes, it's pretty obvious he has a type." Rossi pointed out.

"His MO is consistent in all murders as well. All victims received multiple stab wounds, and burns. Cause of death is blood loss in each murder." Morgan observed.

"Blood loss?" Seaver asked.

"Every victim was cut across the throat. The autopsy report says that the wound did not sever the trachea, but was deep enough to cause the women to bleed to death." Prentiss pointed out as she flipped through the files.

"Garcia, I want you to look for any connection between the four women. No detail is unimportant."

"Yes sir," Penelope promised, "I'll be back in a flash with the results." With that she signed off.

"Morgan, Prentiss, I want you to check out the first two dump sites, as soon as we're finished setting up. Reid and Rossi, I want you to see the most recent dump sites. Agent Seaver and I will talk to the familes of the women to see if they had similar personalities or interests; any connection Garcia might miss." Hotch said.

Everyone nodded.

* * *

><p>As the team was setting up at the police station, the very man they were looking for was walking up and down the streets of Carmel. He was unaware of the FBI's presence at the time, and besides he was busy enough looking for his latest victim. Any blonde haired young woman would do. He didn't care about eye color, height, personality, or name. They were all the same anyway. All he wanted was his own little toy to play with, but eventually his toys broke and he was forced to replace them. It was a never ending cycle for Robert, but he enjoyed the new thrill every time he killed. It was a feeling that would never grow old. One thing he was sure of, he would keep killing up until the day he died. This made him, in his mind, a very dangerous man.<p>

A pretty little blonde had just dropped her purse on the sidewalk. This was pure luck. Usually he had to come up with more elaborate plans, but this woman was meant to be his. He was sure of it. He strode over to her and helped pick up her belongings, while slowly and carefully reaching into his pocket.

"Thanks so much." The woman said kindly.

"Oh, no problem," James said quickly. The sidewalk was clear; it was just him and her. No cars were in sight. He pulled his hand out of his pocket. It was a tazer he had taken from a sleeping cop a year earlier. Her eyes grew wide in shock. James smiled she was just the same as all the others he had taken. Before she could scream he jabbed her in the side. Once. Twice. Three times.

After she was unconscious he dragged her into the woods. This was perfect. She was so pretty. As he was dragging a teaching credential fell out of her pocket. Hmm, Ms. Natalie Walters. What a nice name, he thought, I once had a friend named Natalie. He knew that he would enjoy Natalie, she was strong and in good physical condition, she was going to be a fighter he liked that. It made things more fun for him. Even passed out she looked like kind of a bitch. Dirty whore. He thought and kicked her in the head. She was such a bitch. That's what all women were bitches, parasites. He hated every single one of them, but they were so pretty and so much fun.

Fun, he thought, fun. He couldn't wait to see her face when she woke up in his basement tonight, that's when the real fun would start.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: may change rating to M later on for violence. Thanks for the reviews. I will probably continue based on reviews. THANK YOU FOR READING :) I made a mistake last chapter sorry Robert was the original name for the unsub I changed it to James later on sorry for the mistake!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N: I'm really sorry for the mix up with the unsub's name last chapter, ITS JAMES! Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for reading! Please review. **

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Carmel," Detective O'Brian said, "Feel free to set up anywhere. I can't thank you enough for coming here. I'm Detective Mike O'Brian. I'm in charge of this case and I really need your help."<p>

"No problem." Hotch pointed to an empty room, "We'll set up there if that's ok."

"Yeah that'll do." O'Brian nodded.

"Have you talked to the families?"

"Not yet, they're waiting in the front."

"If it's ok, we'd like to see where the unsub disposed of the bodies." Emily asked

"Of course, I'll have an officer escort you there." The detective replied.

* * *

><p>Emily was bored. All she really wanted to do was go home and sleep. Not go to another crime scene.<p>

"Is everything ok Emily?" Derek glanced over at her.

"Yep. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She sat up straighter and looked straight ahead. To tell the truth, she wasn't sure if she was ok. She felt fine, she just had a strange feeling in her gut and her heart wasn't devoted this case like always.

Thankfully, Morgan didn't press the subject any further. They were going to visit the dump site of Heather Bohrman, a middle class blonde. She wasn't married, had no children, and was a Human Resources assistant for a small company. Nothing about her stood out.

Heather's body was discovered in the back of a grocery store. It was carelessly thrown on the concrete, according to the crime scene pictures. The body was discovered a week ago and had been removed almost immediately.

"The unsub must have come here at night when nobody was around and dragged her body out of the woods," Morgan pointed to a trail of smeared blood, "and put her right over here." Morgan walked towards the small strip of trees behind the store. "What's on the other side of the trees?"

"An empty lot, and a little further down an animal shelter." A police officer answered.

"He could have easily drove right over to the lot, walked through the woods and put the body here without being seen. Are there any security cameras focused on the back of the building?" Prentiss questioned.

"One. It's pointing towards the back entrance, not over here. It doesn't contain any useful footage." A man answered.

"Has anyone looked at the lot yet?" Derek asked.

The policemen sheepishly answered no. They were obviously embarrassed that they forgot to check an important place.

Prentiss and Morgan started walking through the woods. "You can see little spots of blood," Emily pointed, "Our unsub definitely came through here."

The trees opened up and there was indeed an empty lot. The concrete was more than halfway gone and various plants were sprouting up in the cracks.

"An old drugstore used to be here about 20 years ago before anything else was here. It burned down in '97." Someone pointed out.

"And nothing else is planned to be constructed here?" Prentiss asked.

"No. Not at all, this plot of land is too small in the eyes of some companies to be useful." The same man pointed out, "I'm Officer John Carrey, by the way."

"You seem to know a lot about this town, have you lived here long?"

"I've lived here my whole life. This town is a part of me and this murderer, is pissing me off." Officer Carrey answered.

Before Prentiss could answer, Morgan shouted out that he had found something.

"Tire tracks," he said. "Looks like a large vehicle. A pickup truck maybe."

"I'll have some people check it out." Officer Carrey promised. He seemed relieved that something useful had been found.

"Let's go to the next dumpsite." Morgan said to Prentiss.

"Do we have to?" Emily groaned and laughed as she climbed into the SUV.

Morgan laughed too and the two drove to Melanie Harris' dumpsite.

* * *

><p>Hotch and Seaver were also busy back at the stations. They had the families of Melanie Harris and Brenda Martin.<p>

Melanie's parents were a couple that showed no grief for their daughter being killed just a couple days earlier. They answered all questions very businesslike.

"We didn't talk to Melanie much. She had her job, which took up a lot of her time, and we figured she'd call when she feels like it. She didn't. She never called, never visited. For Christmas, all we got was a card that said 'Merry Christmas Love, Melanie'. It broke our heart. All we wanted was to see her once in a while." Mrs. Harris replied.

Hotch nodded. This explained the lack of emotion. "Do you know if she was seeing anybody or ended a relationship recently?"

"Like we said, we had no contact whatsoever. If she was seeing anybody, we had no idea."

"Thank you for your time." Aaron said as he shook their hands. What a waste of time, he had no new information.

An hour later, the team was back at the station.

* * *

><p>"Okay," Rossi started, "So what do we know about this guy?"<p>

"The obvious, he targets blonde women, most likely for a reason." Prentiss said.

"A woman in his life may have betrayed him or let him down which may have been his stressor." Morgan leaned back in his chair.

"The bodies were all found in a twenty mile radius, he most likely lives in town and knows his way around." Reid stated, who was already working a geographic profile.

"The women seem to have no connection except their look. They all have a different social class, different jobs, and different personalities. His abductions don't have a set pattern. He most likely picks a new victim when his need to kill becomes unbearable." Emily said, yawning.

"Okay, that's a start. Let's continue this in the morning. Everyone get a good night's sleep." Hotch sensed that the team was tired and there was nothing more they could do at the moment.

* * *

><p>The team was just giving up for the night, but the man they were looking for was just getting started. Natalie was just beginning to wake up. Her eyelids were fluttering and in just a moment she would begin to realize what she was in for. Her ankles and wrists were bound with rope and duct tape covered her mouth. At that moment Natalie opened her eyes. She blinked twice tried to move her arms, looked down at them and began to struggle. It was no use, but she tried anyway. James studied her, and waited for her to calm down. It was about five minutes before she did and he approached her.<p>

"Hello Ms. Walters." James greeted her. Walters avoided eye contact. That was a mistake. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." His voice grew louder, still she didn't look at him. "LOOK AT ME!"

He roughly grabbed her face and turned it towards him. Through the duct tape he could hear her whimper. He ripped it off. Another whimper.

"Do you want to apologize to me?" He asked.

This time Natalie looked him straight in the eye, spit in his face and yelled, "Bastard!"

James kicked her in the leg, wiped the spit off his face and went upstairs.

Natalie breathed heavily she was scared as hell, but she wasn't about to show this sick son of a bitch she was.

James knew that, but they always broke, always. All it took was a little persuasion. A knife would work perfectly. He thundered down the stairs to his victim, and he started doing what he did best, causing pain.

Natalie's screams echoed through the house, but nobody could hear, nobody could help, so James didn't worry he just enjoyed the sweet sweet music of her screams.


	4. Chapter 4

"We have a missing persons report." Those were the first words Emily Prentiss heard when she walked into the police station. The son of a bitch had done it again, and it was only a matter of time before they found her body.

"Dammit," Derek muttered.

"Who is it?" Hotch asked, they needed to find her soon.

"Natalie Walters. She's an elementary school teacher, she didn't show up at work this morning. Her co-workers said that's very unlike her. She's blonde." O'Brian told the team.

"We need to deliver the profile." Aaron said, "We need to catch this guy."

"I'll gather everyone up."

Five minutes later, everyone was assembled and ready with their notepads.

"The man we are looking for is in his mid to late thirties, white, and drives a large vehicle, most likely a pickup truck or a van," Emily began.

"He has an obvious hatred against women, specifically blondes. It's likely a female figure in his life betrayed him or didn't meet his expectations." Dave pointed out.

"When he kills his women, he dumps them within a twenty-mile radius. This leads us to believe he lives here in town. You may know him personally." Reid said.

"He will come across as friendly and approachable, but he is not able to interact well with women. He may seem intimidated by them and torturing them is the only way he will feel powerful."

"The unsub is a sexual sadist he feels sexual release by torturing and raping the women he captures."

"The unsub will also live in a house that is not up-kept very well. For example, the house may be close to falling apart. His home will have a basement which is where he tortures and kills his women. He will not live close to others."

"We believe he is single, and has possibly suffered the loss of a loved one. Killing is the only way he feels important, and he will not stop until we catch him." Hotch was wrapping up now, "Thank you for your time and we appreciate your effort."

Everyone dispersed. "Emily and Dave, I want you to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Walters they may know something useful."

"Yes sir." Emily nodded.

* * *

><p>At that moment, James McCuller was outside the police station. He was a delivery man, so he could be almost anywhere without looking suspicious. The only suspicious part was that he was a delivery man for a furniture store, but nobody seemed to notice. It seemed now the FBI was involved with his little killings. He would have to be more careful from now on, but that didn't mean he had to stop having fun.<p>

He saw two FBI agents leaving the building. He could tell they belonged to the FBI because of the way they walked. They walked with confidence and power, especially the woman. She was a pretty brunette. Blondes had always been his type, but this one was different.

He could tell that she would be fun. She was strong and confident, she probably thought she knew all about him, but because of her, he was about to change his type. She should feel honored. James had to learn more about her.

She was coming closer to him, she was probably heading to the black SUV to his left. James had to know who she was. He picked up a random brown package and walked towards her. He didn't make eye contact, in fact he pretended he didn't see her so he could bump into her. Which he did.

"I'm so sorry miss," James apologized profusely.

She looked at him strangely before realizing she was being rude. "Oh," she said, "My bad."

She had stopped just long enough for James to see her credentials. Agent Emily Prentiss. He liked that. It had a nice ring to it.

Emily Prentiss was different and she was all his.

* * *

><p>Emily and Rossi pulled into the driveway of Mr. and Mrs. Walters' home. It was a two story brown house, nothing about it stood out, just like this town. Emily walked up and knocked on the front door.<p>

A petite brunette who appeared to be in her mid-fifties opened the door.

"Hi. We're with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit and we're here to ask you a few questions about your daughter, Natalie." Emily asked.

The woman said nothing, but looked at Dave and Emily back and forth nervously.

"May we come in?"

The woman opened the door and ushered them into the living room. Her husband was sitting on the couch reading the news. His eyes were swollen and red, so were Mrs. Walter's eyes.

"Henry, these are FBI agents they're here about Natalie." Mrs. Walters said.

Before Emily and Dave even sat down, Henry Walters burst out, "How much time does she have?"

Prentiss looked at Dave before answering. "The other women that were abducted by this man were held for one or two days before he killed them. Natalie still has time, and we will do everything we can to find her."

He put his head in his hands "Then why are you here and not finding her?" He demanded.

"We need as much information about Natalie as possible. Any information may help us. We just want to ask you questions." Rossi explained calmly.

"Ok," they agreed.

Prentiss and Rossi sat down on the couch. "Was your daughter well liked?"

"Yes. She was very mature and handled all situations calmly. She didn't believe in violence. I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt her." Nadine Walters said sadly.

Emily hated to see parents devastated like this. Natalie still had time, but it may not be enough time.

"Did she tell you about anything out of the ordinary? Any men she had recently met? Anything at all?" Rossi asked.

"Not that she mentioned. She loves her job, loves going out with friends. She really enjoys teaching." Henry Walters was twiddling his thumbs impatiently.

After a few more questions Emily and Dave thanked them for their time and left.

"Now we know, the unsub doesn't pick his victims for any particular reason except their looks. Everything else is random. He doesn't even have a set killing pattern." Rossi said frustrated.

"Do you think we'll be able to catch this guy in time?" Emily asked she didn't want another devastated family.

Rossi only looked at her sadly. He didn't know.

* * *

><p>James McCuller watched Emily Prentiss and her male co-worker leave the house. He watched safely from his van, while taking pictures of Emily. He was having fun with Ms. Natalie Walters at his house, but Emily was so much more intriguing than her. But Emily couldn't be his this moment. Not yet. So James drove back to his little dilapidated house and entered the basement. Natalie was sleeping. She was pale, and had cuts all over her arms, legs, face, and stomach. He walked around her and admired his work. He truly was an artist.<p>

He decided it was time to wake her up, with a little surprise. He already had a fire going and a nice stick of metal was heating up. It was probably hot enough now. James went to a cabinet, retrieved a pair of gloves and slowly pulled out the hot, metal stick. He carefully went over to Natalie.

James held the metal right in front of her face before slowly sliding it down her side, all the way from her shoulder to her hip.

Natalie's eyes shot open almost instantly, and she let out a long agonizing scream. To anyone but James this scream would pierce their soul and give them nightmares for a week. But to James, it was a beautiful noise. He watched her face carefully.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, sweat covered every inch of her body. She was scared to death. Her ribs were sticking out, and she looked terrible. James was careful to give her plenty of water; she would weaken too quickly without it. It seemed like it took all her strength just to mutter a few words.

"Why are you doing this?" She trembled.

"Because I can sweetheart." He bent down and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Aw look at your leg; you shook so much your cut started bleeding again. Let me help."

Natalie started to squirm whatever help he was offering she wasn't interested in. James returned to her side with the knife again, it was stained with her own blood. He took it and lightly ran it down the length of her cut, then without warning, he plunged it inside of her cut, deep all the way to the bone. She screamed and screamed and screamed, until she blacked out.

James giggled. This was so much fun! He couldn't wait until his darling Emily joined him. He went upstairs to do a little research on her. He had to form a plan so that he could add her to his collection.

* * *

><p>Emily groaned. It's already been two days and they were almost at the same place where they started.<p>

She decided to call Garcia to see if she had any new information.

"Speak and be heard by your goddess of all things computer." Garcia chirped.

"Hey Garcia, you got anything for me?" Emily asked.

"I most certainly do. All the women that were killed were in the process of remodeling or doing something new with their house. They all ordered a piece of furniture from the exact same company shortly before they were abducted. All the women except Natalie Walters."

"Thanks Garcia. That's good enough. Can you send me a list of all the employees of that company and where they live?"

"I already did. Good luck Emily! Garcia out."

That's a relief. Maybe the team could actually find this creep. Rossi already went back to the station, but Emily had asked Hotch if she could go back to the hotel a while and gather her thoughts.

Prentiss called Hotch at the station, "Hey, I think I got something, I'll be at the station in a bit."

"Good we'll need all the information we can get." He replied.

"I know. See you in a few." She hung up and walked towards her car. She unlocked the car, only to find that it was already open.

Emily wasn't surprised. She had been walking around with her head in the clouds all day. It was no surprise she forgot to lock the door to the SUV. She climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

Before she could even put the car in gear, she heard a voice and a hard metal object press against her temple.

"Drive." James said as he smiled. Emily Prentiss was his.

**A/N: YAYYY ANOTHER CHAPTER! It's getting interesting now haha! Thanks for reading I really appreciate all the reviews and everything! I will update as soon as possible!**


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